I read an article this weekend that suggested that repeated frustration, rather than exposure to violent images could be responsible for the violent behavior associated with video game playing. What is interesting about this is that it points to the importance of resiliency, and developing strong emotional self regulation techniques throughout all areas of life. Here is a link to the article: http://goo.gl/KVUWSR

For example, in sports, players may lose a game as a result of a bad call. "When people feel they have no control over the outcome of a game that leads to aggression" he said.P

"We saw that in our experiments. If you press someone's competencies, they'll become more aggressive, and our effects held up whether the games were violent or not."

In order to foster resiliency and emotional intelligence we learn many different techniques, which are all the same at the core. Increase awareness of your emotional landscape, find a cognitive heuristic that helps you to slow down and take a breath before reacting, practice practice practice.

Here is an example of the S.T.O.P technique (from http://zenpsychiatry.com/stop/):

(S)top when you realize you're about to get hijacked by your reaction, (T)ake a breath, (O)bserve what is going on in your body and not just your head and finally (P)roceed once you've done all this.